Monthly Archives: September 2021

TRANSFORMED – BY DEATH

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TRANSFORMED – BY DEATH

“Six days before the Passover, Jesus came to Bethany, where Lazarus lived, whom Jesus had raised from the dead. Here a dinner was given in Jesus’ honour. Martha served while Lazarus was among those reclining at the table with Him.” John 12:1, 2a NIV.

I find it strange that, for the first time the name of Lazarus, Martha and Mary’s brother was mentioned apart from his sickness and death in John 11. Although Jesus visited their home in Bethany many times, Lazarus did not feature until after he was raised from the dead. There is no indication that the two sisters even had a brother until now.

Is it possible that Lazarus was unsympathetic, even hostile to Jesus before he died? The sisters called him, “The one whom you love,” but that does not mean than he had any sort of relationship with Jesus. Jesus loved the rich young ruler and yet he chose not to follow Him and walked away.

Did Jesus allow Lazarus to die so that he could go to the grave an unbeliever; to awaken him to the truth that there is an afterlife and that there is only one way to the Father, after all, and that is through Jesus?

For the first time, at the dinner given in Jesus’ honour in his home, Lazarus was among those reclining at the table. John makes sure that his readers understand that it was in Jesus’ honour, not Lazarus’, that Martha arranged this function. The fact that Lazarus was one of the dinner guests meant that Jesus and he were reconciled. Did he refuse to eat with Jesus until now because he did not believe in Him?

Although this is conjecture, if it is the truth, Jesus might deliberately have allowed Lazarus to experience death and then bring him back to life again so that he would know what it was like to be separated from God and then be given another opportunity to believe in Him.

“…with Him.” Is that a loaded statement? It almost sounds as though John wanted to emphasize Lazarus’ new intimacy with Jesus. Jesus would have occupied the place of honour at the table, but where was Lazarus seated? “With Him,” right beside Him; perhaps reclining on Him as John would do at the Passover meal.

I think it was more than gratitude that brought Lazarus to faith in Jesus. He was probably one of those men who was too proud or too stubborn to acknowledge that he was wrong. He needed a wake-up call (pardon the pun) far stronger than Jesus” teaching, or even His healing miracles. Was he one like Thomas who demanded to poke his finger into Jesus’ wounds before he would believe?

Whatever Lazarus needed to shake him out of his unbelief, Jesus met him and he became a convinced and devoted follower. He had tasted death and returned. The Pharisees could argue that the man born blind was not blind or not healed or whatever else they wanted to believe but they could never argue away the truth that Lazarus was decaying in the tomb and Jesus called him back to life.

“Then Mary took about a pint of pure nard, an expensive perfume; she poured it on Jesus’ feet and wiped His feet with her hair. And the house was filled with the fragrance of the perfume.” John 12:3 NIV.

This verse completes the picture and gives one a feeling of satisfaction. Each member of the Bethany family is in his or her place; Martha in the kitchen, serving; Lazarus at Jesus’ side, reclining; and Mary at Jesus’ feet, adoring; each one worshipping Jesus in the appropriate way! Finally, Lazarus has come home. He has become a member of God’s family and has taken his rightful place in his human family.

It was a long and difficult road for him. He had to endure the suffering of his mortality to gain an understanding of his immortality. In His love for Lazarus, Jesus allowed him to walk right into physical and spiritual death to feel the magnitude of God’s grace and to receive the gift of everlasting life that was wrapped up in His own death and resurrection. In the course of a few days Jesus would be where Lazarus had been so that Lazarus could be where He was.

He did that for him and for us too…!

Acknowledgement

Scripture taken from THE HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION®, NIV® Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.

LET THE GAMES BEGIN

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LET THE GAMES BEGIN

“Therefore, Jesus no longer moved about publicly among the people of Judea. Instead, He withdrew to a region near the wilderness, to a village called Ephraim, where He stayed with His disciples.

“When it was almost time for the Jewish Passover, many went up from the country to Jerusalem for their ceremonial cleansing before the Passover. They kept looking for Jesus, and as they stood in the temple courts they asked one another, ‘What do you think? Isn’t He coming to the festival at all?’

But the chief priests and the Pharisees gave orders that anyone who found out where Jesus was should report it so that they might arrest Him. “John 11:54-57 NIV.

So, this is what happens when a person does the right thing! Since He brought a dead man back to life, He was considered public enemy number one. In the eyes of the Jewish leaders, He was dangerous and an enemy of the state. They siphoned all their personal issues against Him into this apparently legitimate reason for having Him caught and brought to trial.

For Jesus, it was not a matter of if but when He would be executed. He had to be careful not to show Himself prematurely. He had to fit perfectly into His Father’s timetable and into the fulfilment of all the types and shadows and Messianic prophecies of the Old Testament, so He remained out of sight until the appropriate moment.

The Sanhedrin had already decided that it should not happen during Passover because the situation was far too volatile (Mark 14:1, 2). Jerusalem would be filled with Jews from all over Israel and farther afield. Jesus was too well-known and popular to risk a riot at that time. Howvwe, it was Judas who forced their hand by betraying His whereabouts on the eve of Passover. They might not get another chance to grab Him when He was not expecting it.

According to John, they had issued an order to anyone who knew where He was to inform them. Unfortunately for them, Jesus was no ordinary fugitive. He was in charge. He would show Himself and give Himself up at the precise moment, no matter what their plans and instructions. There were things He had to do before He finally left His disciples. Whether the Jews thought they had Him in their power or not, was irrelevant. He had already made it clear to His followers that no-one could take His life from Him. He would lay it down for the sheep at the perfect moment.

So, He played cat-and-mouse with them. After raising Lazarus and creating a furore, He remained out of sight in a village off the beaten track. Were the ordinary people aware of the Sanhedrin’s intention? As the worshippers assembled in Jerusalem for the ritual preparations for the Passover, He was the subject of their conversation and the object of their curiosity. Where was He? Would He dare show Himself in Jerusalem during the Passover? Would He risk another public standoff with the Jewish leaders? Tongues wagged all over the city.

The “Jews” laid their plans and waited. They could arrest Him and keep Him in custody until after the Passover when the city returned to normal – so they thought. As long as they had Him safely locked up, they could breathe easier.

But God…. had other plans and Jesus was in on them, waiting on the Father to reveal His hand in His time. The Lamb of God has to die at the precise moment when the high priest raised the knife to slaughter the first sacrificial lamb that marked the beginning of the Passover ceremony. He had to ride into the city on a donkey as an indication of His claim to the throne of Israel, but not as they expected. He was asking for the allegiance of men’s hearts so that He could reveal the Father to the world through them.

Two kingdoms stood on the threshold of the greatest battle ever fought, the kingdoms of darkness and light, and the outcome was already determined from before the foundation of the world. Only Jesus knew what lay ahead and He was ready for it.

Acknowledgement

Scripture taken from THE HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION®, NIV® Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.

IT HAD TO BE!

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IT HAD TO BE!

“Therefore, many of the Jews who had come to visit Mary, and had seen what Jesus did, believed in Him. But some of them went to the Pharisees and told them what Jesus had done. Then the chief priests and Pharisees called a meeting of the Sanhedrin. ‘What are we accomplishing?’ they asked. ‘Here is this man performing many signs. If we let Him go on like this, everyone will believe in Him, and then the Romans will come and take away both our temple and our nation.'” John 11:45-48 NIV

Wrong! The religious leaders were really being melodramatic! In what way would Jesus’ signs cause them to “lose” their temple and their nation?

Jesus’ miracles, up to this point, were in no way disturbing the Romans. What He was doing was evidence that the God who wanted them to worship Him was not the vengeful, demanding and legalistic god of the Pharisees but a loving Father who wanted them to submit to His way so that they would live in harmony with Him and with one another.

Like all the others, including Jesus’ disciples, it seems that the Jews” idea of the Messiah was one of a strong political ruler who would restore the Davidic kingdom to its former glory by getting rid of the Romans and setting up His own rule in Israel. Did they think that Jesus’ miracles were His way of getting the people on His side so that, when He made His move against Rome, they would rise up with Him?

Had the Jews only listened without the filter of their prejudice and envy, they would have heard something different from their twisted interpretation of His words and works. Their protests covered up a much more sinister and personal reason for hating Him. Jesus was not shy of showing them up for what they were — greedy and conniving opportunists who used their position to enrich themselves at the expense of the people whom they controlled through their religious demands in the name of God!

This latest challenge, the spectacular and unassailable act of raising Lazarus who had been putrefying in the grave for four days, was the last straw. The religious leaders had to exterminate Jesus because they did not know what He would do next. What they did not take into account was that nothing He had said or done up to this point, indicated that He had intentions of rising up against Rome and taking over. All they knew was that He had great power and they were afraid of Him.

Then one of them, named Caiaphas, who was high priest that year, spoke up. ‘You know nothing at all! You do not realise that it is better for you that one man die for the people than that the whole nation perish.’ He did not say this on his own, but as high priest that year he prophesied that Jesus would die for the Jewish nation, and not only for that nation but also for the scattered children of God, to bring them together and make them one. So, from that day on they plotted to take His life.” John 11:49-52 NIV.

Caiaphas was high priest and spokesman for the Sanhedrin. Little did he know that what he had to say, out of his puny reasoning, was actually an accurate and profound prophetic statement of the truth. Caiaphas saw Jesus as the scapegoat for themselves and the people. It was either Jesus or them. However, he unwittingly verbalised God’s redemptive purpose for sending Jesus.

John was quick to pounce on his words and explain that Jesus’ death was indeed a substitute for the Jews in Israel and all God’s people everywhere. Were the words of Isaiah, which the prophet had spoken centuries before and which Caiaphas would have known so well, subconsciously emerging from his lips?

“Surely. He took up our pain and bore our suffering, yet we considered Him punished by God, stricken by Him and afflicted. But He was pierced for our transgressions, He was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was on Him, and by His wounds we were healed. We all, like sheep, have gone astray, each of us has turned to his own way, and the Lord has laid on Him the iniquity of us all.” Isaiah 53:4-6 NIV.

Yes, Caiaphas, you were absolutely right! It had to be, but you were part of the plot to kill Him and you were guilty!

Acknowledgement

Scripture taken from THE HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION®, NIV® Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.

CONVINCED OR NOT CONVINCED?

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CONVINCED OR NOT CONVINCED?

“Jesus, once more deeply moved, came to the tomb. It was a cave with a stone laid across the entrance. ‘Take away the stone,’ He said. ‘But Lord,’ said Martha, the sister of the dead man, ‘by this time there is a bad odour, for he has been there four days.’

“Then Jesus said, ‘Did I not tell you that if you believe, you will see the glory of God?’ So they took away the stone. Then Jesus looked up and said, ‘Father, I thank you that you have heard me. I knew that you always hear me, but I said this for the benefit of the people standing here, that they may believe that you sent me.’ When He had said this, Jesus called out in a loud voice, ‘Lazarus, come out!’

“The dead man came out, his hands and feet wrapped with strips of linen, and a cloth around his face. Jesus said to them, ‘Take off the grave clothes and let him go.'” John 11:38-44 NIV.

What a moment! What went through the minds of the two sisters, of the bystanders when Jesus ordered them to remove the stone? ‘No! It can’t be! Is He out of His mind? Is He really going to go in there? What is He going to do?’ As the heavy stone was moved, so the stench of death wafted from the mouth of the cave and they involuntarily stepped backwards.

Jesus was oblivious to the smell of putrefying flesh. He took a step forward and turned His face heavenwards. In a strong, confident voice He addressed His Father, ‘Abba, we’ve already talked and you have heard my request. Now I want all these people around me to know and believe that it is you who sent me.’ When did He speak to the Father? All the time, no doubt.

Then, without hesitation He addressed the corpse — in a loud voice that Lazarus would hear wherever he was — ‘Lazarus, out!’ The bystanders watched and waited, hardly daring to breathe. Was this just a big show? The seconds ticked by, then…out of the darkness a figure emerged, naked but for the strips of cloth around his hands, his feet and his face and probably encasing his body as well. He shuffled towards the entrance, unable to walk because of the linen ties around his feet.

Miraculously, the odour had dissipated. Lazarus was very much alive but still wearing the evidence of his departure encasing his body. Instead of the stink of decay, the fragrant spices of his sisters’ loving preparation for burial still clung to him, released by a fresh breeze which blew away the last vestiges of his untimely death.

Trying in vain to free himself of his encumbrances, Lazarus shuffled out of the tomb. The people stared at him, speechless with shock and disbelief. Only one person was with it enough to speak sense in the situation. I can imagine that Jesus was amused by the bizarre scene — dozens of people gawking like beached fish while a man tied up in burial cloths, hands and feet firmly immobilised, and unable to see where he was going, tried to get free of his bonds and speak to them!

‘For pity’s sake,’ I can imagine Jesus saying, ‘Untie the poor guy and let him go.’ With a jolt, someone would come to and take off the bandages from Lazarus’ feet and hands and untie the cloth around his face so that he could breathe freely again and see.

The Bible abruptly halts the story right there. John was not about telling a story. He was about providing convincing evidence that Jesus was the Son of God, sent by the Father to reveal His Father’s glory. What did the Jews think about that? Was this magnificent sign enough to tip the scales, the climax of the signs John had recorded to reveal the nature of the Father and convince his readers that Jesus was indeed God’s Son, perfectly reflecting Him in everything He did?

We have to read on to the conclusion that unfolded in the next few days to discover the depth of wickedness in the hearts of Jesus’ opponents that drove them, not to believe but to plan their murderous end to the story!

Acknowledgement

Scripture taken from THE HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION®, NIV® Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.

THE JEWS

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THE JEWS

“When the Jews who had been with Mary in the house, comforting her, noticed how quickly she got up and went out, they followed her, supposing she was going to the tomb to mourn there…

“When Jesus saw her weeping and the Jews who had come along with her also weeping, He was deeply moved in spirit and troubled. ‘Where have you laid him,’ He asked. ‘Come and see, Lord,’ they replied. Jesus wept.

“Then the Jews said, ‘See how He loved him!’ But some of them said, ‘Could not He who opened the eyes of the blind man have kept this man from dying?'” John 11:31; 33-37 NIV.

Once again, the Jews are in the mix! John has consistently called Jesus’ opponents “the Jews”. Are these ones here with Martha and Mary the same people – the ones who were planning to kill Him?

Is it possible that He was using this situation as His trump card against them? In His altercations with them, He had insisted that they see His works as His calling card. ‘Who are you?’ time and again they demanded. His response was always the same. ‘Look at my works and decide for yourself. Whom do I resemble?’ In their perversity they responded, ‘You look like the devil. Demon-possessed! You’re the son of Satan!’

“Funny!’ He replied, ‘You are remarkably like your father, the devil! Your works look just like him – thief, liar, murderer!’ In spite of their protestations, ‘We are Abraham’s descendants; we are disciples of Moses; we are God’s sons,’ there was an unmistakable likeness to their real father and they hated Jesus for pointing it out.

Now they were in Bethany with the sisters, milling around, observing, even mourning a little with them. Give them their due; perhaps their grief over the death of Lazarus was genuine – or was it also part of their practised religion, sitting shiva with those who mourn?

How was Jesus ever to convince them that He was the Father’s Son, showing them what the Father was like by the works He did? Miracles didn’t do it – the Jews assassinated His character because He broke THEIR rules by healing on the Sabbath. Perhaps raising a man to life who had been decaying in the tomb for four days might do it.

And what about the two bereaved sisters? It was time to take their faith to a new level, especially since Jesus would soon be where Lazarus was, although they didn’t know it yet. What would happen to their confidence in Him when His battered body lay in the tomb and their shattered hopes died with Him? Would they recall His words, “I AM the resurrection and the life?’ Would their memory of Lazarus keep their faith in Him alive?

Jesus knew exactly what He was doing! This miracle of all miracles would either convince the Jews or drive another nail into their coffin – and His! Did they really want to know who He was or were they looking for another excuse to kill Him? When He called Lazarus from the grave, it was His way of saying, ‘Take that, you Jews!’ and their response. ‘Kill Lazarus! Get him out the way! He’s the reason for all this!’

And Martha and Mary? Time would tell whether this event would forever cement their trust in Him and bind them to Him in adoring love forever. And Lazarus? What would this experience do for him? After all, he was the one who had crossed the great divide and come back again? We never hear the story from his lips, but we have hints in John’s record that help us make up a story that could well fit the evidence.

How true it is that God always has a reason and a plan for everything He does. Life is lived forward and understood backwards. Our hearts break for the sisters in their grief and disappointed hopes and celebrate with them in their joy when they received their brother back alive. We suffer in our own anguish and pain but, when we trust Him, somehow, we receive back in abundance more than we ever lost – and the ecstasy of knowing, after all, that He knew what He was doing!

Acknowledgement

Scripture taken from THE HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION®, NIV® Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.